1.
Abd al-Malik I (Samanid emir)
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Abd al-Malik I was emir of the Sāmānids. He died before he could press his claims, however, sparing Abd al-Malik from having to deal with him, unfortunately the Samanid state became increasingly internally unstable during Abd al-Maliks reign. The governor of Khurasan, Bakr ibn Malik al-Farghani, was murdered by the amirs Turkish guard and he was replaced for some time by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Simjuri, and Abu Jafar Utbi was made vizier. However, the Turkish contingent of the military was rapidly gaining more and more power, the Turkish leader Alptigin managed to gain the governorship of Khurasan for himself, and had Muhammad ibn Abu Ali Muhammad Balami, son of Emir Nasrs vizier, promoted to that post. The new vizier, however, fell under the influence of the Turks, Abd al-Malik was not able to stop the expansion of the Turks powers, resulting in the Turks being effectively in control by the time he died in 961 after falling from his horse at Bukhara. Following his death, Alptigin attempted to appoint his son as amir, the Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4, From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs